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INAUGURATION 


mis  I! Mfi  I I * zc  1 * c 
£i?iHoyiw  J.  JA/tij.3 


Kenyon  1C.  Kntterfielii 


AS 


PRESIDENT  OF  THE  MASSACHUSETTS 
AGRICULTURAL  COLLEGE 


OCTOBER  SEVENTEENTH,  1906 


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OF  THE 

Massachusetts  Agricultural  College 


Henry  F.  French,  M.  A. 

Paul  A.  Chadbourne,  D.  D.,  LL.  D. 
William  S.  Clark,  Ph.  D.,  LL.  D. 
Charles  L.  Flint,  M.  A.,  LL.  B. 
Levi  Stockbridge, 

Paul  A.  Chadbourne,  D.  D.,  LL.  D. 
James  C.  Greenough,  M.  A. 

Henry  H.  Goodell,  LL.  D. 

Kenyon  L.  Butterfield,  A.  M.  - 


1864-1866 

1866- 1867 

1867- 1879 

1879- 1880 

1880- 1882 

1882- 1883 

1883- 1886 
1886-1905 
1906- 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2017  with  funding  from 

University  of  Illinois  Urbana-Champaign  Alternates 


https://archive.org/details/inaugurationofkeOObutt 


©riter  nf  iExmtoa 


PR  A YER 

By  Rev.  Henry  Hague 

MUSIC 

ADDRESS 

On  behalf  of  the  Board  of  Trustees 
By  Hon.  Charles  A.  Gleason 
Vice  President  of  the  Board 

PRESENTATION  OF  THE  CHARTER , SEAL  AND 
KEYS  OF  THE  COLLEGE 

By  Marquis  F.  Dickinson,  Esq. 

INAUGURAL  ADDRESS 


The  Forward  Movement  in  Agricultural  Education 
By  President  Kenyon  L.  Butterfield,  A.  M. 


< 


By  HON.  CHARLES  A.  GLEASON. 


President  Kenyon  L.  Butterfield, 

Ladies  and  Gentlemen  : 

We  meet  here  to-day  to  begin 
an  important  era  in  the  history  of  this  college,  situated  in  this 
valley  renowned  for  its  numerous  institutions  of  learning.  For 
nearly  forty  years  the  doors  of  this  college  have  been  opened, 
not  only  to  the  students  of  this  Commonwealth,  but  of  America, 
and  to  some  beyond  the  sea. 

Its  graduates  are  many,  scattered  far  and  wide,  and  through 
its  inspiration  and  training  have  made  for  themselves  a name 
and  record  which  is  an  honor  to  them  and  their  alma  mater. 
Some  of  the  most  successful  of  them  sit  on  this  platform,  and 
are  in  this  audience  to-day.  The  President’s  chair  has  been 
occupied  by  men  who  have  given  the  best  of  their  lives  for  this 
institution.  Some  of  them  have  broken  down  in  the  service 
and  most  of  them  have  gone  to  their  rest.  Our  beloved  and 
lamented  Goodell,  so  lately  departed,  spent  most  of  his  life  and 
did  most  of  his  work  here. 

I am  not  here  to-day  to  speak  the  praise  of  those  who  have 
done  their  work,  but  to  welcome  our  new  President  to  his  new 
duties  ; to  give  a word  of  cheer  and  to  bid  him  God-speed  in 
his  work.  In  the  absence  of  the  Governor,  which  is  deeply 
regretted,  it  becomes  my  most  agreeable  privilege,  in  behalf  of 


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the  Board  of  Trustees,  to  extend  a most  cordial  welcome  to  you, 
Mr.  President.  I do  it  because  the  Trustees  feel  that  a warm 
welcome  should  be  given  you,  and  want  it  done.  I do  it  per- 
sonally because  in  my  heart  it  is  a pleasure  to  do  it.  We 
welcome  you  in  behalf  of  the  State  of  Massachusetts,  to  these 
grounds  and  halls  as  custodian  and  director,  believing  they  are 
placed  in  good  hands.  We  welcome  you  to  this  body  of 
students,  representing  the  best  brain  of  the  land,  athletic  in 
body,  eager  and  active  in  mind  ; brought  together  here  for  the 
training  and  culture  this  institution  affords. 

As  president  of  this  college  you  will  not  only  be  their 
instructor,  counsellor,  and  friend,  but  your  life  and  example  will 
become  their  ideal,  and  we  are  rejoicing  to-day  in  the  expecta- 
tion that  your  influence  will  affect  the  standard  both  of  culture 
and  character  of  the  students. 

We  welcome  you  to  this  historic  town,  beautiful  in  location, 
renowned  for  its  scenic  attractions,  its  well  cultivated  farms, 
the  intelligence  and  culture  of  its  people.  We  can  but  hope 
that  you  will  find  a pleasant  home  here  for  yourself  and  family. 

We  welcome  you  to  this  board  of  faculty.  I can  not 
do  it  as  they  have,  and  will  do  it,  for  themselves.  They  are, 
and  have  been  a large  part  of  this  college.  It  is  enough  for 
me  to  say  that  they  will  give  you  the  same  faithful  and  loyal 
support  they  have  been  giving  in  the  past. 

I want  to  welcome  you  in  behalf  of  the  agriculture  of  Massa- 
chusetts,— both  the  farmers  who  are  farming  for  pleasure,  and 
those  who  are  farming  for  a livelihood.  I can  truly  speak  for 
the  latter  class  from  an  experience  of  more  than  forty  years  on 
a dairy  farm. 

This  college  has  been  a place  where  many  of  the  interests  of 
the  farmer  have  centered  and  their  interest  has  been  increasing 
in  the  work  done  here.  We  have  a notion,  sir,  from  the  good 
things  you  are  saying,  that  the  hard-working  farmers  of  Massa- 


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chusetts  will  find  in  you  an  able  friend.  In  taking  the  position 
of  President  of  this  college,  you  will  be  associated  with  the 
officers  of  the  other  colleges  of  this  valley — colleges  that 
rank  high  among  the  colleges  of  America,  from  whom,  I am 
sure,  you  will  receive  just  recognition  and  a warm  welcome. 
The  standing  of  this  college,  your  attainments,  and  the  reputa- 
tion you  bring  here  entitle  you  to  a good  position  in  this  circle. 
Your  modesty  may  incline  you  to  take  a low  seat,  but  we  believe 
you  will  be  asked  up  higher,  for  you  are  to  take  a prominent 
part  in  the  educational  work  in  Western  Massachusetts. 

And  now,  Mr.  President,  in  behalf  of  these  Trustees,  I give 
you  our  most  cordial  and  hearty  welcome,  assuring  you  of  our 
support  and  assistance  when  needed.  You  will  find  the  Board 
of  Trustees  loyal  to  the  college  and  its  President, — several  of 
them  the  alumni  of  the  college  and  all  of  them  its  loyal  friends. 

You  have  come  here  in  favorable  times.  The  winds  are  blow- 
ing from  the  right  direction.  The  Trustees  wanted  you  to 
come,  and  the  farmers  and  all  interested  in  the  college  are  glad 
you  have  come.  And  while  we  believe  in  the  injunction  of  the 
King  of  Israel,  “ Let  not  him  who  girdeth  on  his  harness  boast 
himself  as  he  that  putteth  it  off,”  yet  we  confidently  expect  a 
successful  administration  that  will  be  an  honor  to  the  State  and 
government  that  does  so  much  for  the  maintenance  of  this 
college. 


Abatrart  of  % Abbresa 

Of  MARQUIS  F.  DICKINSON  of  Boston 


Mr.  Dickinson’s  address  opened  with  a biographical  resume 
of  the  admin istations  of  the  seven  past  Presidents  of  the  Col- 
lege, Henry  F.  French,  Paul  A.  Chadbourne,  William  S.  Clark, 
Charles  L.  Flint,  Levi  Stockbridge,  James  C.  Greenough  and 
Henry  Hill  Goodell.  More  than  three-fourths  of  the  forty-two 
years  of  our  academic  life  has  been  under  the  guidance  of  two 
of  these  men,  Clark  and  Goodell,  one  of  whom  served  twelve 
years,  the  other  nineteen.  Both  were  marked  personages,  dis- 
tinguished alike  by  force  of  character  and  brilliant  qualities  of 
leadership.  Each  was  here  long  enough  to  impress  himself 
deeply  upon  the  institution,  and  to  leave  a strong  and  permanent 
influence. 

The  second  part  of  the  address  treated  of  the  enormous  de- 
velopment of  our  agricultural  resources  and  production  during 
the  last  half  century  and  the  coincident  expansion  of  our  system 
of  agricultural  education.  At  the  head  of  the  movement  stands 
the  Agricultural  Department  at  Washington,  which,  in  some 
sense,  has  now  become  the  greatest  university  in  the  world, 
enjoying  an  annual  appropriation  by  Congress  amounting  to  five 
or  six  million  dollars.  It  holds  guardianship  over  the  various 
state  agricultural  and  industrial  colleges  established  under  the 
Morrill  Act  of  1862,  and  superintends  the  experiment  stations 


connected  therewith.  Thus  are  bound  together  all  the  best  and 
essential  features  of  our  system  of  agricultural  education. 

The  growth  of  agricultural  education  in  Massachusetts  since 
1850  was  touched  upon.  The  Massachusetts  Agricultural  Col- 
lege is  distinctly  an  agricultural  institution,  but  this  dominant 
purpose  implies  no  neglect  of  those  courses  of  study,  in  lan- 
guage, literature,  history  and  economics,  which  form  an  indis- 
pensable part  of  the  liberal  education  it  aims  to  give.  Statistics 
collated  in  1893  indicated  that  considerably  more  than  half  our 
graduates  up  to  that  time  were  farmers,  or  were  engaged  in  pur- 
suits closely  allied  thereto,  such  as  agricultural  editors,  teachers 
in  agricultural  colleges,  experiment  station  directors,  or  workers 
in  other  special  lines  of  agricultural  effort.  One-seventh  of  the 
whole  number  of  graduates  in  the  first  twenty-two  years  were 
employed  in  agricultural  colleges  and  experiment  stations,  and 
among  them  were  three  college  presidents,  eight  professors  of 
agriculture,  five  of  horticulture  and  botany,  three  experiment 
station  directors  and  several  vice-directors. 

The  address  concluded  with  the  following  words  of  induc- 
tion: “And  now  after  these  discursive  wanderings  in  fields 
of  biography  and  agriculture  I turn  to  the  particular  duty 
assigned  me  this  afternoon,  that  of  investing  the  new  Presi- 
dent with  the  emblems  of  his  office. 

On  the  second  day  of  January  last  you,  Sir,  were  unani- 
mously elected  by  our  Board  of  Trustees  to  the  high  office  of 
President  of  the  Massachusetts  Agricultural  College.  The 
fact  that  your  honored  father  was  for  many  years  Secre- 
tary of  the  Board  of  Agriculture  of  Michigan  affords  ample 
guaranty  that  your  heredity  is  agriculturally  sound  and  correct. 
It  was  a fortunate  circumstance  that  you  were  reared  in  that 
state,  a leader  in  agricultural  education,  for  she  was  one  of 
three  states  with  agricultural  colleges  in  operation  when  the 
Morrill  bill  was  enacted.  Your  graduation  from  the  Mich- 


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igan  Agricultural  College  at  Lansing  in  1891  was  just  the 
starting  point  we  could  have  desired  for  you.  Your  subse- 
quent active  employment  along  agricultural  lines,  as  Assistant 
Secretary  of  the  college,  in  Grange  Work,  and  as  Superintend- 
ent of  Farmers’  Institutes,  where  you  inaugurated  and  devel- 
oped the  Michigan  Plan,  so-called,  your  post-graduate  course 
in  the  great  university  of  your  native  state  at  Ann  Arbor,  where 
you  received  your  Master’s  degree  ; your  experience  there  as  a 
teacher  of  rural  sociology,  your  interest  in  that  subject  and  in 
the  life  of  rural  communities,  all  testify  to  the  intense  activi- 
ties of  your  early  life.  Your  selection  as  one  of  the  leaders  in 
the  work  of  the  Carnegie  Institution,  which  you  are  still  carry- 
ing on,  is  proof  of  the  estimation  in  which  you  are  held  among 
experts  in  the  direction  of  your  special  studies.  Four  years 
ago  the  authorities  of  the  neighboring  state  of  Rhode  Island, 
recognizing  your  fitness,  chose  you  as  the  head  of  their  State 
College  at  Kingston.  The  record  of  your  brief  administration 
in  that  place  amply  justified  their  choice  and  won  cordial 
support.  And  now  we  have  summoned  you  here  to  a somewhat 
larger  field  of  effort.  You  are  bidden  welcome  by  the  four 
great  estates  of  this  college, — Trustees,  Faculty,  Alumni  and 
Students.  You  enter  upon  no  holiday  service.  We  lead  you  up 
rather  to  hard  work  and  mayhap  to  some  trials  and  discourage- 
ments. These  are  the  inevitable  concomitants  of  high  and 
noble  endeavor,  and  are  incident  to  the  occupation  of  all  respon- 
sible positions  in  life.  But  the  very  presence  of  difficulties  and 
the  surmounting  of  them  only  enrich  the  success  with  which 
faithful  and  conscientious  effort  crowns  one’s  work.  It  has  been 
said  that  every  great  pleasure  comes  off  the  keen  edge  of  suffer- 
ing. To  this  we  may  fairly  add  that  every  great  success  is 
most  highly  valued  when  it  is  won  against  heavy  odds,  or  fol- 
lows intense  opposition.  You  are  never  to  forget  that  you  are 
the  head  and  ruler  of  this  college.  To  you  the  Trustees  com- 


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mit  its  government  and  guidance.  Take  the  advice  of  your 
faculty  when  you  need  it,  or  when  you  cannot  get  along  with- 
out it,  and  then,  to  borrow  the  language  of  our  courts,  decide 
each  case  “according  to  the  law  and  the  evidence  given  you.” 
As  Trustees,  we  refuse  to  constitute  ourselves  a Court  of 
Appeals  for  the  regular  decision  of  questions  of  discipline  that 
may  arise  between  you  and  others  here.  We  shall  be  willing 
to  act  only  under  very  exceptional  circumstances,  or  in  great 
emergencies.  Such  responsibilities  as  these  will  sometimes 
demand  of  you  great  firmness,  but  you  will  not  fail  of  success  if 
you  carry  in  your  mind  the  words  of  Tennyson  : — 

“O  well  for  him  whose  will  is  strong, 

He  suffers,  but  he  cannot  suffer  long, 

He  suffers,  but  he  cannot  suffer  wrong. 

For  him  nor  moves  the  loud  world’s  random  mock, 

Nor  all  calamity’s  hugest  waves  confound, 

Who  stands  a promontory  of  rock, 

That  compassed  round  with  turbulent  sound, 

In  middle  ocean  meets  the  surging  shock, 

Tempest  buffeted,  citadel  crowned.” 

And  now,  Kenyon  Leech  Butterfield,  Bachelor  of  Science, 
Master  of  Arts,  speaking  in  the  name  and  on  behalf  of  the 
Board  of  Trustees,  delegated  by  them  to  perform  this  act  of 
investiture,  I commit  to  your  hands,  as  the  emblems  of  your 
authority  and  of  your  right  of  possession  here,  the  Charter,  the 
Seal  and  the  Keys  of  this  institution.  I pronounce  you  President 
of  the  Massachusetts  Agricultural  College,  and  as  such  present 
you  to  this  sympathetic  and  waiting  audience.  Above  all 
things  I invoke  for  you,  and  your  great  work,  the  constant 
favor  and  blessing  of  Almighty  God. 


inaugural  Aitirrsu 


The  Forward  Movement  in  Agricultural  Education 


By  PRESIDENT  KENYON  L.  BUTTERFIELD,  A.  M. 


Among  all  the  varying  phases  of  our  wonderful  educational 
advancement  during  the  past  half  century,  none  is  more  signifi- 
cant from  the  standpoint  of  the  schools  and  none  more  impor- 
tant in  respect  to  resulting  industrial  and  social  effects,  than 
the  development  of  agricultural  education.  These  fifty  years 
have  brought  us  63  colleges  of  agriculture,  registering  at  this 
time  some  3,000  students  who  are  pursuing  agriculture 
as  a college  subject,  with  nearly  5,000  more  in  shorter  courses  ; 
a great  Federal  Department  of  Agriculture  with  hundreds  of 
trained  men  at  work  ; farmers’  institutes  in  every  state,  reach- 
ing a million  farmers  each  year ; agricultural  high  schools  and 
high  school  courses  springing  up  here  and  there ; and  an 
earnest  campaign  begun  in  behalf  of  the  study  of  agriculture 
in  the  primary  schools.  These  various  agencies  for  agricultural 
research  and  education  are  probably  costing  us  not  less  than 
ten  million  dollars  a year.  This  great  establishment  has  given 
us  an  army  of  well-trained  men  who  devote  their  whole  time  to 
the  study  or  teaching  of  agricultural  science  and  practice  ; a 


*5 


really  large,  though  perhaps  relatively  inconspicuous,  number 
of  college  graduates  who  are  successful  farmers  ; and  it  has 
informed  and  inspired  hosts  of  adult  farmers  and  farmers’ 
wives.  Its  immediate  and  its  indirect  influences  upon  the 
agricultural  industry  and  upon  rural  life  as  a whole  are  not 
easily  catalogued.  This  establishment  is  also  winning  its  way 
into  an  organic  relationship  with  our  whole  educational  struct- 
ure. It  is  being  recognized  by  educators  ; its  methods  are 
acknowledged  to  be  wise  methods;  its  subject  matter  is  admit- 
ted, by  some  at  least,  to  possess  value  as  mind-training  stuff. 

This  position  of  influence  has  not  been  attained  quickly  or 
easily.  We  are  barely  emerging  from  the  struggle.  The  half- 
century  has  seen  pioneer  work.  Frankly,  it  has  been  an 
experimental  stage.  The  agricultural  colleges  particularly, 
have  made  their  way  against  the  most  serious  opposition. 
They  have  come  perilously  near  the  traditional  fate  prescribed 
for  the  house  divided  against  itself.  For  educators  have 
ridiculed  them,  both  because  they  failed  to  turn  out  farmers 
and  because  they  pretended  to  raise  agriculture  to  the  status  of 
a college  subject  and  thus  invaded  sacred  ground ; farmers 
have  laughed  at  them  because  it  was  believed  that  “ book- 
farming ” was  a fatal  malady. 

As  we  study  the  history  of  these  colleges  we  cannot  avoid 
the  conclusion  that  this  opposition  has  been  to  a degree  the 
fault  of  the  colleges  themselves.  Some  of  the  colleges  as  a 
whole,  and  many  instructors  individually,  were  out  of  touch 
with  the  problems  of  the  farmers.  Instead  of  approaching 
their  work  from  the  concrete  need  of  the  farmer,  they  maintain- 
ed an  academic  superiority  that  was  perhaps  self-satisfying,  but 
that  prevented  the  doing  of  their  real  work.  That  vital  sym- 
pathy between  teacher  and  toiler,  which  is  indispensable  in  all 
technical  education,  was  missing.  In  some  cases  the  colleges 
did  not  have  the  courage  of  their  purpose,  and  refused  to  break 


i6 


away  from  the  conventional  college  methods  or  subjects.  This 
went  so  far  at  times  that  they  seemed  to  be  attempting  to  com- 
pete with  the  u old-line  ” colleges,  with  the  inevitable  result  that 
faculty  and  student  body  became  infused  with  ideas  fatal  to 
agricultural  training.  But  perhaps  the  more  serious,  because  a 
fundamental,  difficulty  was  the  curriculum.  It  was  generally 
admitted  that  the  natural  sciences  were  the  bed-rock  of  agricult- 
ural instruction.  And  so  the  natural  sciences  were  taught  and 
fairly  well  taught.  It  was  recognized  that  agricultural  science, 
in  so  far  as  it  existed  or  can  exist,  is  “ applied  ” science.  The 
trouble  occurred  at  this  point.  The  teacher  of  science  did  not 
always  make  the  application.  Agriculture  as  a special  subject 
did  not  have  a large  place  in  the  course  and  consequently  the 
student  was  brought  up  to  the  point  where  science  became 
agriculture  and  was  dropped  there  to  make  his  own  application. 
The  so-called  agricultural  course  then  became  a science  course 
with  leanings  towards  agriculture,  but  not  an  agricultural  course 
in  the  true  vocational  sense. 

Yet  this  primary  difficulty  with  the  curriculum  was  by  no 
means  entirely  the  fault  of  the  college.  The  college  was  strug- 
gling against  conditions  that  it  did  not  create  and  that  it  could 
not  immediately  remove.  One  reason  why  the  student  was  left 
to  his  own  application  of  scientific  principles  to  concrete  farm 
problems  was  because  the  teacher  himself  had  not  made  the 
application.  In  other  words,  the  body  of  knowledge  to  be 
taught  was  limited  and  imperfect.  Consequently  there  were 
relatively  few  strong  teachers  of  agriculture.  The  colleges 
could  not  get  them  because  they  did  not  exist. 

Furthermore,  the  industrial  situation  has  not  until  somewhat 
recently  seemed  to  justify  an  ambitious  young  man  in  taking  a 
college  course  as  a preparation  for  farming.  So  long  as  low- 
priced  lands  remained,  so  long  as  virgin  soil  could  be  had  for 
the  asking,  there  was  no  premium  upon  a schooling  for  agricult- 


ure.  On  the  other  hand  the  demand  for  skilled  men  in  other 
industries  entirely  outran  the  supply.  The  new  commercialism 
which  arose  after  the  Civil  war  encouraged  daring  minds.  The 
call  coming  from  the  pursuits  of  the  city  was  well-nigh  impossi- 
ble to  resist.  The  farm-bred  boy  had  a hundred  charming 
paths  of  escape  from  the  drudgery  he  had  learned  to  loathe. 
So  the  boy  did  not  go  to  college  to  learn  agriculture.  The  mill 
could  not  make  flour  of  beans. 

The  purpose  of  this  brief  survey  of  the  pioneer  stage  of  agri- 
cultural education  is  not  to  find  fault  with  the  men  who  have 
been  at  the  helm.  But  it  may  serve  to  explain  why  progress 
has  not  been  more  rapid.  It  may  also  give  us  warning  of  some 
pitfalls  to  be  avoided.  The  encouraging  fact  is  that  today  we 
stand  at  the  threshold  of  a new  era  in  agricultural  education. 
The  frontier  work  is  over.  Our  predecessors  have  cleared  the 
way  for  us.  Agricultural  colleges  have  won  the  favor  of  most 
farmers  and  of  many  educators.  They  have  developed  a corps 
of  well-trained  and  enthusiastic  teachers.  There  is  now  a body 
of  knowledge  so  complete  and  so  exact  as  to  be  almost  worthy 
the  name  of  agricultural  science,  which  is  rapidly  assuming 
pedagogic  form.  The  call  of  the  soil  is  being  heard  by  young 
men  of  parts.  The  mutiplication  of  great  cities  has  created  a 
new  market.  The  virgin  lands  are  cultivated.  Intensive  farm- 
ing is  developing — and  intensive  farming  means  education.  All 
forms  of  agricultural  education  are  expanding  to  meet  the  new 
conditions.  And  we  find  ourselves  in  the  current  of  a great 
“forward  movement  ” in  agricultural  education. 

It  would  seem  that  an  attempt  to  analyze  this  movement 
might  give  us  the  best  means  of  approach  to  the  formulation  of  a 
policy  for  a particular  college.  And  because  we  do  have  in 
mind  the  concrete  task  that  lies  before  the  college  of  agriculture, 
this  analysis  will  attempt  specifically  to  show  the  connection  of 
the  agricultural  college  with  the  general  movement  of  agricult- 


i8 


ural  development.  Perhaps  a better  title  for  this  address  would 
be  “ The  work  of  the  agricultural  college,  viewed  in  relation  to 
the  forward  movement  for  agricultural  betterment.” 

There  are  three  phases  of  this  question — the  pedagogical,  the 
sociological,  and  the  administrative. 

I.  The  pedagogical  phase.  Very  naturally  the  agricultural 
course  has  been  commonly  listed  as  a technical  course,  a course 
that  fitted  a man  for  definite  industrial  work.  It  has  been 
included  in  the  dreaded  category  of  bread-and-butter  courses. 
Its  value  from  the  standpoint  of  education  or  culture  has  not 
been  generally  admitted.  Probably  agricultural  educators 
themselves  have  failed  to  emphasize  the  educative  value  of 
agriculture  as  a subject  of  study.  But  now  it  is  seen  that  a 
college  course  in  agriculture  must  justify  itself  pedagogically  as 
well  as  industrially, — it  must  educate  men  as  well  as  train  far- 
mers and  scientists.  Of  course  this  principle  of  culture  has 
been  urged  from  the  beginning  of  agricultural  colleges,  but  its 
present  application  is  new ; because  under  the  old  regime 
breadth  was  to  be  secured,  not  by  the  study  of  agriculture,  but 
by  the  study  of  general  subjects  preceding  the  study  of  agricul- 
ture. Now  we  have  come  to  believe  that  agriculture  itself  may 
be  so  defined  and  its  subject-matter  so  taught  that  it  will  be 
educative,  broadening,  cultural.  This  position  is  tenable,  how- 
ever, only  by  accepting  considerations  like  these : 

That  different  types  of  mind  may  be  educated  through  differ- 
ent subjects,  much  as  different  animals  thrive  on  widely  differ- 
ent foods : 

That  a vocational  education  need  not  be,  and  indeed  should 
not  be,  merely  technical.  But  that,  as  vocation  itself  is  educa- 
tive, so  the  proper  course  of  study  leading  to  a vocation  may  be 
truly  cultural : 

That  modern  agriculture  as  a vocation,  both  on  its  practical 


19 


and  on  its  scientific  sides,  and  consequently  an  adequate  course 
of  training  preparatory  to  it,  is  so  broad,  with  such  intimate 
relations  to  all  the  natural  and  social  sciences,  with  boundaries 
so  well  defined,  with  principles  sufficiently  established,  and  in 
fine  with  a content  so  varied,  so  inclusive,  so  significant,  that 
its  earnest  pursuit  as  a subject  of  study,  by  those  interested  in 
it,  will  yield  that  discipline  and  liberal  training  that  belong  to 
the  educated  man : 

Finally,  that  all  this  does  not  involve  the  abolition  of  literary 
training,  but  rather  the  attempt  to  coordinate  such  training 
intimately  with  the  more  technical  aspects  of  the  course.  Cer- 
tainly no  sane  educator  would  for  a moment  urge  a course 
that  would  tend  to  perpetuate  the  anomaly, now  all  too  frequent, 
and  one  unfortunately  not  wholly  confined  to  technical  institu- 
tions, of  sending  out  some  men  who  can  neither  spell,  read, 
talk,  nor  write  their  mother-tongue  acceptably,  or  men  who  have 
the  vaguest  notions  of  the  social  and  industrial  problems  of 
the  day,  and  even  more  hazy  ideas  of  their  own  responsibilities 
with  respect  to  these  problems. 

Now  if  this  principle  of  the  educative  value  of  a well-balanced 
agricultural  course  is  fully  accepted,  and  if  such  a course  can 
be  actually  evolved,  as  we  believe  to  be  possible,  several  impor- 
tant results  will  accrue, — results  that  utimately  may  have  con- 
siderable bearing  upon  our  general  educational  philosophy  and 
practice. 

i.  The  sharp  distinction  sometimes  drawn  between  voca- 
tional studies  and  culture  studies  is  already  being  modified. 
Sometime  it  may  be  obliterated.  Probably  we  shall  have  a 
new  definition  of  culture.  At  any  rate  vocation  hereafter  is  to 
be  glorified,  not  only  for  what  it  contributes  to  national  and 
individual  prosperity,  but  for  its  educational  possibilities. 
Vocation  is  not  merely  technique.  It  is  not  merely  bread-win- 
ning. At  its  best  it  is  a form  of  social  service  in  which  the 


20 


whole  man  is  engaged.  It  relates  itself  to  most  of  the  individ- 
ual demands  for  growth,  and  even  more  vitally  to  the  social 
demands  of  family  and  of  state  and  of  civil  society.  Hence 
we  shall  discover  a way  of  making  a vocational  training  also  a 
liberal  training. 

2.  Even  now  it  is  true  that  the  courses  in  agriculture  are 
being  worked  over  in  the  light  of  pedagogical  principles.  We 
are  giving  increased  emphasis  to  the  training  which  a subject 
gives  as  compared  with  the  information  it  may  carry.  We  are 
insisting  that  teachers  of  agriculture  shall  be  teachers  first  of  all, 
and  we  will  not  permit  keenness  for  new  knowledge  and  ability 
for  research  to  stand  in  lieu  of  that  rather  rare  and  costly  gift — 
teaching  power.  Our  faculties  will  be  concerned  about  produc- 
ing well-rounded  men  as  well  as  about  developing  highly 
specialized  departments  of  knowledge.  We  will  have  depart- 
ments and  professors  of  agricultural  education. 

3.  Agriculture  is  to  be  amply  recognized  in  the  schools.  If 
agriculture,  properly  defined  and  taught,  is  efficient  educational 
material,  both  city  boy  and  country  boy  may  profit  by  it.  The 
one  because  he  will  reach  a knowledge  of  and  a sympathy  with 
nature  not  easily  secured  in  any  other  way ; the  other  because 
he  is  utilizing  his  environment — physical,  industrial,  and  social 
— as  a means  of  education.  Moreover,  in  that  enlargement  of 
the  scope  of  industrial  education  which  will  sooner  or  later  pro- 
vide for  all  the  youth  of  the  state,  agriculture  will  demand 
equivalent,  though  different  and  appropriate,  opportunities  for 
boys  who  want  to  farm  and  for  boys  who  want  to  run  looms  and 
build  bridges.  So  we  shall  see  some  forms  of  agriculture  intro- 
duced into  the  lower  schools,  both  in  city  and  in  country.  The 
high  schools  will  provide  courses  in  agriculture.  And  at  no 
distant  time  we  shall  have  a system  of  distinctively  agricultural 
high  schools. 

4.  Eventually  the  well-balanced  agricultural  course  in  the 


land-grant  colleges  will  appeal  to  men  who  see  in  it  a means  of 
general  education.  This  is  only  the  logical  outcome  of  the 
contention  that  certain  types  of  mind  can  best  be  developed 
through  that  body  of  knowledge  which  should  be  comprised  in 
a broad  course  in  agriculture.  I look  for  the  time  when  students 
will  choose  the  agricultural  course  because  it  forms  for  them  the 
best  foundation  for  a life-work,  even  though  they  may  not  fol- 
low rural  pursuits,  just  as  today  hundreds  of  men  take 
the  law  course  as  a preparation  for  business  or  for  politics. 

II.  The  second  general  aspect  of  the  forward  movement  in 
agricultural  education  is  the  sociological.  The  principle  which 
applies  here  is  that  the  function  of  the  agricultural  college  is 
one  of  leadership  in  all  lines  of  rural  betterment.  The  college 
has  obligations  to  the  farmers  as  well  as  to  its  students.  The 
growing  of  greater  crops  is  not  the  sole  question  in  rural  life. 
Nothing  that  concerns  the  material,  the  economic,  the  social, 
the  moral  welfare  of  rural  communities  is  foreign  to  the  interest 
of  the  college.  It  is  not  only  a school , but  it  is  also  a leader  in  a 
great  class  and  national  movement.  Hence  the  college  will 
touch  the  real  farm  problem  at  all  vital  points.  It  will  endeavor 
to  reach  all  classes  of  people  with  all  subjects  of  interest  in 
country  life.  This  new  purpose  of  the  agricultural  college  to 
relate  itself  to  all  the  broad  economic  and  sociological  aspects 
of  rural  life  is  involving  the  college  in  some  very  important  and 
interesting  departures  from  the  old  view  of  the  work  that  a col- 
lege is  set  to  perform. 

i . There  will  be  a wider  application  of  the  social  sciences  to  the 
problems  of  agriculturists.  Of  course  the  new  agriculture  can 
have  no  other  substantial  basis  than  a thorough  knowledge  of 
the  soil  and  of  the  laws  of  plant  and  animal  growth.  But  the 
time  has  come  when  the  farm  problem  is  not  only  a question 
of  scientific  agriculture,  but  also,  if  possible,  even  more  a ques- 


22 


tion  of  economics,  sociology,  civics.  The  farmer  must  maintain 
his  status  in  the  social  and  political  structure  or  go  the  way  of 
the  English  yeoman.  He  must  be  industrially  strong,  but  his 
industrial  strength  cannot  be  maintained  simply  by  making  two 
blades  of  grass  grow  where  but  one  grew  before.  The  farm 
problem  is  economic  as  well  as  technical.  That  all  this  is 
realized  clearly  enough  by  practical  farmers  may  be  illustrated 
from  the  practices  of  the  representative  farmers’  organizations 
such  as  the  Grange.  The  Grange  has  been  the  true  friend  of  the 
agricultural  colleges  and  experiment  stations,  its  members  con- 
stantly discuss  practical  farm  topics,  and  most  of  them  have  a 
lively  respect  for  the  whole  movement  toward  scientific  agricul- 
ture. But  the  Grange  gives  even  more  of  the  time  in  its  literary 
programs  to  topics  that  have  to  do  with  education,  social  life, 
economics,  legislation. 

This  is  significant  of  a deep-seated  feeling  that  along  these 
lines  lies  the  continued  independence  of  the  farming  classes. 
The  land-grant  colleges  are  just  beginning  to  appreciate  this 
feeling.  In  the  past  courses  in  the  elements  of  political  economy 
and  of  civics  have  been  given  in  the  agricultural  colleges ; and 
in  those  universities  where  the  agricultural  college  is  a depart- 
ment of  the  university,  opportunity  has  been  offered  for  more 
extended  work  in  these  subjects.  But  even  yet  there  is  in  this 
country,  except  in  isolated  cases,  virtually  no  adequate  instruc- 
tion in  social  science  applied  to  rural  problems.  It  is  as  if  an 
agricultural  college  taught  animal  physiology  but  omitted  stock- 
breeding  and  feeding ; taught  botany,  but  not  horticulture  ; 
physics,  but  not  tillage  ; chemistry,  but  not  soil-fertility. 

I desire  to  quote  with  approval  from  an  editorial  in  a recent 
number  of  the  New  England  Homestead  : 

“ Instruction  in  the  science  and  practice  of  [agricul- 
tural] cooperation,  and  in  the  actual  business  manage- 
ment of  associated  enterprise,  is  therefore  a crying  need 


2 3 


of  the  present  hour.  This  need  will  increase  from  year  to 
year.  The  whole  tendency  of  present  and  future  is  toward 
closer  association  of  individuals.  The  student  and  the 
farmer  call  for  the  best  possible  training  in  cooperative 
effort.” 

This  illustrates  a growing  conception  of  the  field  of  research 
and  teaching  which  our  agricultural  colleges  must  give.  There 
is  a score  of  other  questions  that  are  vital  phases  of  rural  better- 
ment. The  complicated  question  of  taxation  is  fundamental  to 
agricultural  prosperity ; the  difficult  problems  of  railway  trans- 
portation have  the  closest  connection  with  the  farmers’  welfare  ; 
the  subject  of  markets  and  of  marketing  is  of  no  less  real 
importance  than  all  the  phases  of  crop  and  animal  production  ; 
farmers’  organizations  are  not  so  insistent  upon  recognition  as 
are  labor  unions,  but  their  success  is  just  as  essential  to  class 
integrity  ; the  support  and  administration  of  an  adequate  system 
of  rural  schools  is  not  for  pedagogs  and  normal  schools  alone, 
but  is  intimately  bound  up  with  all  other  aspects  of  rural  life  ; 
the  religious  institutions  of  the  country  can  not  well  be  ignored 
in  any  comprehensive  analysis  of  the  rural  problem.  So  the 
list  might  be  prolonged. 

It  is  unwise  as  a mere  matter  of  good  education  not  to  give 
students  in  agricultural  colleges  a clear  notion  of  these  social 
questions  as  they  relate  to  the  farm ; but  this  omission  will 
prove  well-nigh  suicidal  if  the  colleges  desire  to  take  leadership 
in  solving  the  farm  problem.  For  that  problem  is  social  as 
well  as  scientific, — it  is  economic  as  well  as  chemical,  socio- 
logical as  well  as  physical,  a moral  as  well  as  a business  ques- 
tion. , Is  it  too  much  to  say  that  here  lies  the  great  untilled  field 
in  agricultural  education  ? 

2.  We  will  soon  have  a well-developed  system  of  agricultural 
college  extension  teaching.  There  is  a growing  recognition  of  the 
importance  of  providing  adequate  opportunities  for  agricultural 


24 


instruction  within  the  schools — primary,  secondary  and  collegi- 
ate. But  perfect,  if  you  can,  the  primary  and  secondary 
schools  in  this  respect,  double  the  present  period  of  actual 
attendance,  quadruple  the  number  of  students  at  agricultural 
colleges,  and  you  still  have  the  great  mass  of  younger  farmers 
untutored  save  in  the  use  of  the  elementary  tools  of  education, 
or  at  best  in  the  mere  alphabet  of  those  sciences  that  have  to 
do  with  farm  life.  How  shall  this  deficiency  be  remedied  ? 
Through  extension  teaching.  The  problem  of  the  extension 
work  is  not  only  to  keep  these  tools  sharp,  but  to  give  to  every 
farmer  and  farmer’s  wife,  to  the  young,  to  the  middle-aged,  and 
to  the  old-people,  whose  school  days  are  gone  by  forever,  a 
chance  to  keep  up  with  the  march  of  investigation  and  practice, 
to  understand  the  fundamental  principles  of  scientific  agricult- 
ure, to  appreciate  the  needs  of  the  farmer  in  maintaining  his 
social  and  political  status,  to  inspire  to  alertness  of  mind  and 
hopefulness  of  spirit.  This  is  the  immediate  need  in  agricultural 
education. 

Whatever  may  be  our  ideas  about  the  practicability  of  giving 
extension  work  a large  place  in  the  organization  of  the  typical 
college  or  university,  we  must  admit  that  the  spirit  of  university 
extension  has  found  a secure  lodgment  within  our  educational 
system.  There  is  no  longer  any  question  that  our  educational 
centres  and  our  educated  men  may  directly  and  powerfully 
influence  the  study  and  thought  of  the  fairly  intelligent  masses, 
provided  the  people  are  fed  with  “food  convenient  for  them.” 
Chautauqua  is  an  unanswerable  argument  for  this  statement. 
So  among  farmers.  Today  the  underlying  principles  as  well  as 
the  highest  art  of  agriculture  are  proclaimed  from  thousands  of 
platforms,  in  every  state  of  the  union,  at  farmers’  institutes, 
Granges,  farmers’  clubs,  through  farm  papers,  through  the  vast 
correspondence  of  professors  in  agricultural  colleges  and 
investigators  in  experiment  stations,  through  correspondence 


25 


courses,  lecture  courses,  traveling  libraries,  reading  courses, 
etc.  The  possibilities  of  this  sort  of  work  have  been  tested. 
The  need  of  the  future  is  threefold — a coordination  of  forces,  a 
1 broadening  in  scope,  and  a great  enlargement  of  effort.  These 
results  can  best  be  accomplished  by  establishing  at  every  land- 
grant  college  a well  equipped  “ Department  of  college  extension 
t in  agriculture  ” — perhaps  it  ought  to  be  “ for  agriculture.” 
Because  the  work  should  be  so  broadened  as  to  include  instruc- 
tion not  only  in  agricultural  science  and  art,  but  in  domestic 
science  and  art  and  in  applied  social  science. 

The  agricultural  college  is  the  proper  place  for  centralizing 
this  extension  teaching,  because  this  work  is  first  of  all  educa- 
tional in  its  aims.  It  is  not  a scheme  to  advertise  the  college. 
It  is  a plan  by  which  as  much  of  the  college  as  will  bear  trans- 
portation is  sent  out  on  a mission  of  education  to  the  multitude 
who  cannot  come  to  the  college  for  instruction.  And  let  it  be 
said  also  that  the  organization  of  an  extension  department  need 
not  involve  any  interference  with  the  work  of  other  agencies 
which  attempt  to  educate  adult  farmers.  Indeed,  one  of  the 
purposes  of  the  department  will  be  to  secure  a closer  coopera- 
tion between  the  college  and  the  board  of  agriculture,  the 
Grange,  the  horticultural  societies,  the  normal  schools,  the  state 
department  of  education.  Cooperation,  not  antagonism,  will 
be  its  motto.  The  importance  of  the  department  of  college 
extension  lies  in  the  fact  that  through  it  all  the  forces  that  aim 
to  disseminate  information  among  the  rural  masses  can  be 
focussed.  All  the  aims  of  the  college  that  are  extra-academic 
can  here  be  centralized.  This  department  will  be  the  interpre- 
+ ter  between  the  scholarly  pursuit  and  the  popular  need. 

3.  The  farm  home  is  to  be  fully  considered  in  schemes  of 
agricultural  education.  It  is  probably  true  that  among  the  rural 
i people  more  young  women  than  young  men  are  educated. 
More  of  them  have  had  a high  school  training  at  least. 


26 


Agencies  for  the  benefit  of  farm  women  are  constantly  enlarg- 
ing in  number  and  usefulness.  The  Grange  and  other  farmers’ 
organizations  give  increasing  opportunities  for  the  women  of 
the  farm  to  assert  themselves.  The  farmers’  institutes  are  « 
reaching  many.  The  newer  plans  for  rest-rooms  and  town  and 
country  clubs  have  the  additional  merit  of  seeking  to  bring 
town  and  country  women  into  closer  sympathy.  Some  of  the 
land-grant  colleges,  through  their  departments  of  domestic 
science  or  through  home-making  courses  for  women,  are  doing 
something.  But  we  are  yet  on  the  outer  fringe  of  the  problem. 

The  attempt  to  organize  proper  facilities  for  the  training  of 
women  for  a full,  free  life  in  the  country  homes  of  America,  has 
not  been  seriously  made.  Nevertheless  the  current  of  opinion 
and  effort  is  setting  in  toward  organized  instruction  for  farm 
women.  It  is  seen  that  no  longer  should  there  exist  the 
anomaly  of  a scheme  of  education  for  country-life  that  omits 
that  hemisphere  of  living  represented  in  the  farm  home.  This 
is  far  from  a mere  matter  of  cookery.  Every  phase  of  the 
household  life  of  the  country  home  must  be  touched.  Dietetics, 
household  industries,  household  art,  child-culture — the  whole 
range  of  influences  exerted  by  the  rural  home  is  within  the 
pale  of  this  effort.  There  is  obviously  a large  question  here, 

— the  agricultural  colleges  are  to  lead  in  its  solution.  And 
whatever  else  they  may  attempt  for  the  regeneration  of  rural 
life,  they  can  attempt  nothing  nobler  nor  more  fruitful  than  to 
inspire  a forward  movement  among  the  women  of  the  farm. 

4.  The  agricultural  college  is  to  assist  if  not  to  lead  in  the  work 
of  correlating  and  federating  the  various  efforts  for  rural  better- 
ment. The  state  already  fosters  universities,  agricultural  col-  t 
leges,  departments  of  agriculture,  departments  of  public  instru- 
tion,  normal  schools — all  heading  some  movement  or  other  that 
has  to  do  with  rural  and  agricultural  education  or  with  some  i 
general  phase  of  rural  betterment.  There  is  also  a multitude 


27 


of  voluntary  organizations  working  for  the  same  ends — Granges, 
farmers’  clubs,  dairy  and  horticultural  societies,  village  improve- 
ment societies.  No  one  will  deny  that  great  good  will  come  if 
i all  these  different  agencies  shall  be  able  to  work  together,  if  all 

shall  recognize  the  importance  of  the  work  done  by  the  others, 
if  each  shall  accept  its  allotted  task  without  encroaching  upon 
the  work  of  others,  if  each  shall  understand  the  whole  rural 
problem  and  the  relation  of  each  specific  person  or  organization 
to  that  problem.  Now  it  is  impossible  to  centralize  these 
agencies  into  one  compact  system.  But  may  not  the  agricultu- 
ral colleges  have  a natural  leadership  in  an  attempt  to  correlate 
all  these  forces  in  so  far  as  they  have  to  do  with  the  rural  peo- 
ple ? Such  leadership  will  require  mutual  concession,  and 
wisdom,  and  tact.  I am  pursuaded  that  the  forward  movement 
in  agricultural  education  is  recognizing  this  need  and  that  the 
tide  is  turning  toward  a much  closer  cooperation  among 
these  various  agencies. 

Therefore  I believe  that  the  solidarity  of  the  farm  problem 
will  not  only  be  recognized,  but  it  will  be  cemented,  through  the 
activities  of  the  agricultural  college.  We  shall  see  that  the  farm 
problem  is  many-phased  but  a unit,  that  the  individual  farmer 
alone  cannot  solve  it,  that  the  agricultural  college  alone  cannot 
solve  it,  that  farmers’  organizations  alone  are  not  adequate,  that 
political  agitation  alone  will  not  work  out  agricultural  salvation, 
that  neither  the  agricultural  editor,  nor  the  country  school 
teacher,  nor  the  rural  social  settlement  worker,  nor  the  active 
member  of  the  village  improvement  society  can  single-handed 
solve  it.  Each  movement  and  each  person  is  necessary.  But 
* all  movements  will  be  more  effective  if  it  is  recognized  that 

they  together  are  a great  whole  and  that  only  by  intelligent 
cooperation  can  balance  be  maintained.  The  fact  that  in  seve- 
1 ral  cases  successful  “ Conferences  on  rural  progress  ” have  been 
held  and  that  several  “ Leagues  for  rural  progress  ” have  been 


28 


organized  is  significant  of  a desire  to  get  together,  on  the  part 
of  the  agencies  and  the  individuals  concerned  in  every  phase  of 
the  farm  problem,  not  only  that  each  may  see  the  problem  in  its 
entirety,  but  also  that  each  may  learn  to  cut  his  own  work  to  fit 
the  larger  pattern. 

III.  The  third  and  last  phase  of  the  forward  movement  in 
agricultural  education  grows  out  of  the  practical  problems  of 
college  organization  and  administration  imposed  upon  us  by 
the  new  regime.  We  must  here  content  ourselves  with  a mere 
mention  of  several  rather  important  considerations. 

1.  The  unity  of  the  college  will  be  recognized  and  strictly 
maintained.  There  is  no  difficulty  whatever  in  appreciating  the 
distinctions  between  the  research  work  of  the  institution,  as 
exemplified  in  the  experiment  station,  the  academic  work  as 
illustrated  by  the  teaching  of  graduate  and  under-graduate  stu- 
dents in  residence,  and  the  extension  work  which  carries  out  to 
the  masses  of  adult  people  the  light  and  the  knowledge  of  the 
college  and  experiment  station.  It  is  not,  or  at  least  it  ought 
not  to  be,  difficult  to  see  that  these  three  different  phases  of 
college  work  are  complementary  and  that  all  are  essential.  In 
practice  it  may  not  be  easy  to  carry  out  the  principle.  There 
is  danger  that  the  teacher  shall  lose  touch  with  the  farmer ; 
that  the  station  worker  may  segregate  his  interests  and  hold 
aloof  from  the  problems  of  the  teaching  faculty  ; that  both  may 
look  upon  extension  work  as  an  advertising  scheme  instead  of 
regarding  it  as  a phase  of  education  to  be  developed  just  as 
sedulously  and  to  be  dignified  just  as  fully  as  the  academic  and 
research  work.  The  agricultural  college  is  one  in  purpose,  one 
in  interest,  one  in  results.  Its  workers  must  not  permit  the 
provincial  interests  of  their  particular  fields  to  obscure  the  unity 
of  the  whole. 

2.  The  rapid  development  of  agricultural  science  since  the 


29 


advent  of  the  experiment  stations  has  given  to  the  subject, 
“ agriculture,”  a very  broad  and  inclusive  sense,  and  has  led  to 
a multiplication  of  subdivisions  that  is  somewhat  disconcerting, 
and  yet  which  is  absolutely  necessary.  Specialization  in  agri- 
culture is  just  as  logical  as  in  science  and  it  is  coming  just  as 
surely  as  it  came  in  science.  Twenty-five  years  ago  horticulture 
broke  away  from  botany.  More  recently  forestry  became  differ- 
entiated from  horticulture.  It  follows  therefore  that  the  agri- 
cultural college  which  hopes  to  keep  modern,  will  no  longer  be 
satisfied  with  an  agricultural  and  horticultural  department 
manned  by  three  or  four  men,  but  will  substitute  therefor  an 
agricultural  faculty  made  up  of  one  or  two  dozen  men, each  man 
strong  in  a specialty.  The  extent  of  this  change  and  the  char- 
acter of  the  differentiation  will  be  determined  by  the  type  of  the 
rural  interests  of  the  state,  and  by  the  financial  resources  of  the 
college.  But  the  principle  is  of  universal  application. 

3.  To  carry  out  the  forward  movement  in  agricultural  edu- 
cation much  larger  appropriations  of  money  than  are  now  avail- 
able must  be  granted  by  the  state.  Indeed  this  is,  on  the  prac- 
tical side,  the  prime  question  that  confronts  agricultural  educa- 
tion. Thoroughly  trained  investigators  are  not  common  but 
they  can  be  had;  there  will  be  no  lack  of  attendance  at  agricul- 
tural colleges ; there  is  no  inherent  difficulty  in  interesting 
farmers  in  extension  work.  In  fact  the  forward  movement  in 
agricultural  education  in  most  states  of  the  union  now  waits 
very  largely  upon  one  consideration — adequate  appropriations. 
The  difficulty  of  the  problem  before  the  Massachusetts  Agricul- 
tural College  is  measured,  I take  it,  very  largely  by  the  degree 
^ to  which  the  public  sentiment  of  this  Commonwealth,  as 
expressed  through  the  legislature,  will  stand  sponsor  for  a pro- 
gram that  attempts  to  forward  in  the  most  thorough  way  the 
^ vital  rural  interests  of  the  state. 

I have  endeavored  to  interpret  as  best  I may  the  present 


30 


tendencies  in  agricultural  education.  This  interpretation  may 
be  biased  by  desire  and  ideals,  yet  I think  it  is  a fair  analy- 
sis of  an  actual  movement,  not  in  all  respects  clearly  defined, 
and  yet  one  that  is  emerging  into  shape.  The  extent  to  which 
this  college  can  accept  the  full  program  suggested  must  be 
determined  by  the  future.  Today  we  are  met  in  the  halls  of 
one  of  the  earlier  agricultural  colleges,  one  that  has  succeeded 
in  a peculiar  way  in  maintaining  its  distinctive  character.  This 
college  has  a noble  history,  it  has  trained  a large  number  of 
men  for  many  high  callings — men  who  are  loyal  to  its  welfare, 
it  has  a world-wide  reputation,  it  possesses  a physical  plant  that 
is  a creditable  foundation  for  a great  college,  it  is  set  in  an 
environment  of  unusual  charm,  it  has  teachers  and  investigators 
of  high  authority  in  their  respective  fields,  it  has  a growing 
body  of  students  secured  without  resort  to  artful  advertising. 
Best  of  all  it  now  faces  a condition  of  agriculture  more  hopeful 
than  at  any  time  since  its  organization  as  a college.  Never 
before  has  New  England  agriculture  seemed  so  promising. 
The  tide  countryward  is  setting  in.  The  opportunities  for  men 
trained  at  an  agricultural  college  are  multiplying.  This  college 
occupies  a strategic  position  among  New  England  institutions  of 
similar  character.  Some  of  our  friends,  even  in  those  colleges, 
are  looking  to  us  for  leadership.  Certainly  the  sky  is  bright 
with  promise  of  great  things  to  be  achieved.  Let  us  then  con- 
nect ourselves  as  fully  as  we  can  with  the  forward  movement  in 
rural  betterment  and  realize  to  the  utmost  the  possibilities  that 
are  ours. 

In  closing,  may  I indulge  in  a brief  personal  word  ? I come 
to  this  college  full  of  optimism  for  the  progress  of  American 
agriculture,  full  of  hope  for  the  betterment  of  agriculture  in 
New  England,  and  with  a firm  faith  in  the  mission  and  oppor- 
tunities open  to  the  Massachusetts  Agricultural  College.  I 
desire  to  conserve  all  that  is  best  in  the  structure  that  has  been 


wrought  out  by  the  toil  and  wisdom  of  those  who  have  served 
here.  I wish  to  see  the  college  make  full  use  of  every  new 
opportunity  as  it  arises.  I am  not  anxious  for  mere  numbers, 
nor  shall  I ignore  the  value  of  numbers.  I shall  be  ambitious 
for  the  college  to  keep  its  place  among  the  great  agricultural 
colleges  of  the  world.  I shall  be  jealous  of  its  honor  and  fame. 
I am  aware  that  I follow  in  the  steps  of  one  greatly  loved, 
whose  single-hearted  service  for  long  years  imposes  a great  task 
as  well  as  bestows  a great  blessing  on  his  successors.  I take 
the  reins  from  the  hands  of  one  of  the  sons  of  the  college, 
whose  patience,  wisdom,  and  powers  of  toil  have  carried  the 
college  most  successfully  over  a difficult  portage.  In  attempting 
to  follow  these  men,  I must  ask  from  all  the  most  generous  sup- 
port and  the  kindest  charity.  I need  the  loyalty  of  the  alumni ; 
the  fidelity  of  the  student  body ; the  hearty  cooperation  of  the 
faculty  ; the  support  of  the  Trustees  ; the  consideration  of  every 
citizen  of  Amherst ; the  earnest  help  of  the  farmers ; and  the 
intelligent  interest  of  the  general  public.  May  I not  hope  for 
all  these,  at  least  until  I prove  unworthy  of  them  ? In  return 
all  I can  now  give  is  a most  earnest  pledge  of  devotion  to  the 
college  and  its  highest  interests,  as  God  gives  me  the  vision  to 
see  those  interests,  and  with  His  help  to  attempt  to  unlock  the 
future’s  portal  with  a key  designed  in  the  light  of  the  great 
need  which  this  college  seems  destined  to  fulfill. 


3 0112  105823311 


Hist  nf  ©fftrial  iMrgatrs 


PRESENT  AT  THE  INAUGURATION 


Pres.  Wm,  E.  Huntington,  Boston  University. 
Prof.  George  D.  Olds,  Amherst  College. 

Prof.  Cornelia  M.  Clapp,  Mt.  Holyoke  College. 
Pres.  G.  Stanley  Hall, 

Pres.  Henry  Lefavour, 

Pres.  Charles  S.  Howe, 

Prof.  Alfred  E.  Burton, 

Pres.  Rufus  W.  Stimson, 

Pres.  Howard  Edwards, 


Clark  University. 

Simmons  College. 

Case  School  of  Applied  Science. 
Mass.  Institute  of  Technology. 
Conn.  Agricultural  College. 


R.  I.  College  of  Agriculture 

and  Mechanic  Arts. 


Pres.  George  E.  Fellows,  University  of  Maine. 


Prof.  C.  D.  Smith, 


Michigan  Agricultural  College. 


Pres.  Carroll  D.  Wright,  Clark  College. 


Dr.  Edward  Hitchcock,  Amherst  College. 

The  Veteran  Leader  in  the  Physical  Training  of  College  Men. 


Former  Pres.  James  C.  Greenough  was  also  present. 


